Machine for assembling roller bearings



March 1941- H. A. Ol tTEGR EN ETAL .235.084

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Filed Dec. 8, 1937 8 Sheets-Sheet1 March 1 1941. A Q E EAL 2,235,084.

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS 8 sheets-sheep 2 Filed D60. 8,l937 Qttotnegs March 18, 1941. H. A. ORTEGREN ETAL MACHINE FORASSEMBLING ROLLER BARI-NGS Filed Dec. 8, 19,37 8 Sheets-She'et 5 March18, 1941.

8 Sheets-Sheet 4 3nnentor w 7 e 6 f w; :7 0 fl March 19411 H. A. ORTEGREN ET AL 2,235,081

I MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Filed Dec. 8, 1937 8Sheets-Sheet s ttomega March 18, 1941. H, A ORTEQEN ETAL 2,235,084

MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Filed Dec. 8, 1937 8 Sheets-Sheet8' (Ittornegs March 1- H. A. ORTEGREN ETAL 35 08 MACHINE FOR AS SEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Filed Dec. 8, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 7 e e l e LL] I a:I L 8O 1 lli? (Zttornegs March H. A. ORTEGREN ETAL 23 MACHINE FORASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Bmnntor Mamma Ill Patented Mar. 18, 1941PATENT OFFICE MACHINE FOR ASSEMBLING ROLLER BEARINGS Herman A. Ortegrenand Gharles C. llowenstine,

Detroit, Mich, assignors to Bower Roller Bcaring Company, Detroit, Mich,a corporation of 7 Michigan Application December ii, i931, Serial No.178,784

13 Claims. (Cl. Elfi -till This invention relates to means for use inthe assembling of the parts of bearing structures and more particularlyto a machine for assembling the rolls and parts of a roller bearing,

An object of the present invention is to provide.

a machine for automatically handling and assembling the separatepre-formedparts of roller bearings in the commercial production of suchbearings, and further to provide the machine with means forautomatically feeding rolls from a hopper or other supply of loose rollsand properly positioning a series of these rolls within each roll cageof a series of cages successively and automatically brought, in theoperation of the machine, into position to receive each of such seriesof rolls. l

It is also an object to provide such machine with means forautomatically inserting within each roll cage after the positioning ofthe rolls therein a raceway or cone member for the rolls and forcingsaid member into place within said cage to hold said member and cageassembled with the rolls in place within the cage, thereby completingthe assembly.

A further object is to provide amachine especially adapted forassembling the parts of tapered roller bearings and which machineincludes means for positioning and feeding tapered rolls with all of therolls positioned with their ends of least diameter extending in the samedirection, 1

and to provide means for automatically locating andpositioning each cagerelative to. said roll feeding means so that each roll will drop intoits proper place and position within the cage.

It is also an object to provide a ma -line having a rotatable table forsuccessively positioning a series of cages and holding the same whilethe rolls are being positioned therein, together with means for indexingthe table around to bring the roll cages successively into position foreach to receive a raceway or cone member the entire operation ofassembling the bearing structures in succession being performedautomatically.

It is also an object to provide a machine for automatically assemblingbearing units each of which comprises a pro-formed cage and a series ofrolls, the machine being operative to place the rolls in successivecages and then to form each cage in place into condition to hold therolls in place within the cage, thereby completing the assembly of theunit.

'A further object is to provide certain other new and useful Izatures inthe construction, arrangement and combination of parts, all ashereinafter more fully set forth, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front end elevation of a machine illustrative of anembodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the left side chine;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the back of the machine;

Fig. 4 is a plan view;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section substantially upon the line 5-5 of Fig.2;

Fig, 6 is an enlarged, longitudinal, vertical section substantially uponthe line 86 of Fig. 5 and of adjacent parts above;

c Fig. '7 is a sectional detail of the cone setting mechanism shown in adifferent position than that shown at the left side portion of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a sectional detail substantially upon the line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a plan view of a portion of the rotary work table;

Fig. 10 is a section substantially upon the line Ill-I0 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a section substantially upon the line ll-ll of Fig. 6 withparts broken away and in section'to disclose more fully theconstruction;

a the ma- Fig, 12 is a plan view of the roll distributing head;

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of Fig. 12 with parts broken away and insection to show the construction;

Fig. 14 is a transverse section substantially upon the line I l-14 ofFig. 13;

Fig. 15 is an elevation of the right hand end of Fig. 13;

Fig. 16 is a sectional perspective detail illustrative of the operationof the roll feeding and positioning means; I

Fig. 17 is a sectional detail showing a modified form of the rollfeeding member;

Fig, 18 is. a cross sectional detail of the adjustable stop anddischarging means for the roll positioning means;

Fig. 19 is an enlarged transverse section through the feed hoppersubstantially upon the line 19-19 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 20 is a sectional detail substantially upon the line 20-40 of Fig.19;- v

Fig. 21 is a section similar to that of Fig.19 with parts shown in adifferent position to illustrate the operation.

The present machine is designed for the rapid assembly of the parts-of aroller bearing and more particularly a bearing employing tapered rolls.Such bearings usually consist of a series of rolls which are spacedapart and held in assembled position by means of what is commonly knownas a cage, this cage being of annular form and provided with a series ofopenings to receive and loosely hold the rolls in place. Such a bearingmay also include a cone or raceway member which, when inserted withinthe cage, holds the rolls in place within the cage.

The machine may, however, be modified for th purpose of assemblingbearing units comprising a series of rolls and an annular cage havingfingers formed integral therewith and adapted to be bent for looselyholding the rolls in place within the cage.

The bearing as shown in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises a series of taperedrolls l and a cage 2 of annular form having an upstanding wall 3preferably formed of sheet metal with a series of spaced apart openings3a therein, the width of each opening being slightly less than thediameter of the roll to be received therein. The bearing also includes aconical, annular raceway member 4 having a properly inclined,intermediate portion upon which the rolls are adapted to roll, the conemember being also formed with a rib at its lower end the outsidediameter of which is slightly greater than the diameter of the space atthe lower ends of the rolls within the cage when the rolls are inposition within the several openings in the wall of the cage, so that,when the cone member is forced endwise into the cage after the placingof the rolls in position therein, the lower or small ends of the rollswill be engaged by this rib and will be spread slightly, the cagespringing sufficiently to permit the rib to pass the lower ends of therolls so that the cone will snap into place and loosely hold the rollsin place within the cage, the result being that the rolls, cage and coneare held in properly assembled position.

In the commercial manufacture of such roller bearings, it has been thecommon practice to insert the rolls into the openings in the cage byhand. This is a'slow and tedious process, and it is proposed to do thiswork by means of a machine automatically operative to select the rollsand guide them into place within the several cages of a series of cageseach of which is automatically positioned to receive its proper quota ofrolls; and, where the hearing which is being assembled is a taperedroller bearing, the several rolls to be inserted in each cage are fedfrom a hopper or other supply of. loose rolls and are positioned withtheir ends of smallest diameter all directed in the same direction forproperly positioning the rolls within each cage. of each bearing aretherefore automatically assembled, it being only necessary for theoperator to place the pre-formed cages in the machine, one at a time,and also the cone or raceway members where complete bearings includingsuch members are being assembled.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, the

machine embodying the present invention com-- prises a base .6 formedwith a central hub I to receive a vertical stud 8 having a head at itslower end by means of which the stud is secured in any suitable mannerwithin the huh I in an upstanding, fixed position. Laterally of the huhI the base is also formed with openings to receive vertical, fixed,supporting posts 8a for supporting the superstructure of; the machine.Mounted for rotation upon the stud) is a turn-table indicated as a,whole by the numeral 9, and secured in any The parts.

suitable manner to a downwardly extending hub l0 ofthis turn-table is asuitable pulley H rest ing upon the upper end of the hub I to turnfreely thereon, the turn-table being further supported by means of acentral disk Ila secured to its upper side in any suitable manner with aball bearing l2 interposed between this disk Ila and an annular shoulderformed on the stud 8.

The table 9 is formed with a plurality of openings adjacent itsperiphery each to receive a cage holder and each of which holders isindicated as a whole by the numeral l3.

Each cage holder I3 includes a tube ll adapted to fit closely within oneof the openings in the table 9 and within this tube is a head or plungerl5 having a stepped, conical, upper end portion I6 adapted to projectupwardly through the open upper end of the tube II, it being normallyheld in this position by means of a coiled spring I! interposed betweenthe member 15 and a closure l8 for the lower end of the tube, the memberl5 being formed with an annular rib at its lower end to engage ashoulder l9 within the tube to limit the upward movement of the plunger.The conical upper end of this plunger is formed to fit Any desirednumber of these cage holders l3 may be provided upon the table 9 andarranged about the axis of the table to be brought by rotation of thetable into position beneath roll feeding means hereinafter described,one at a time; and, while the operator is placing the cage upon one ofthe cage holders, an adjacent cage is being supplied with rolls, thetable being turned by means of a friction band or ring 2| applied to thepulley II which is secured to the lower end of the hub ill of the table9. This friction band or member 2| is operated in timed relation to theoperation of other parts of the machine by means of a plunger 22 movablewithin a cylinder 23 and having a stem 24 pivotally connected by a link25 to an arm 26 extending laterally from the friction band 2|. Pivotallyattached to the frame of the machine in any suitable manner and as shownin Fig. 5 is a spring operated dog 21 adapted to engage the edge of thetable 9 and to snap into notches 28 formed at suitable intervals in theedge of the table for properly locating the cage holders l3. Each of thenotches 28 is formed with an abrupt shoulder at one side in thedirection of the rotation of the table and an inclined shoulder at theopposite side so that the dog 21 will firmly hold the table againstbackward rotation but will permit its forward rotation by the frictionband 2| when said band is operated in one direction by means of theplunger 22, said band slipping in contact with said pulley when turnedin the opposite direction, the table being held against backwardrotation by said dog 21 engaging the abrupt shoulder of one of thenotches.

To supply a plurality of rolls to each cage, a hopper 29 is provided tohold a supply of loose pre-formed rolls, said hopper being provided withradially extending arms 30 to engage the upper reduced ends of the posts8a, the hopper being thus rigidly and fixedly supported at the upper endof the machine. The lower side or bottom of this hopper is provided witha series of openings arranged concentrically about the axis of thehopper and projecting into each of these openings is a tubular plunger3|, these tubular plung- 36 adapted to slide within the vertical tubularplunger 3| of each of the arms of the movable spider 32, and thismovable spider is moved v.ertically upon the shaft 33 by means of aforlr 31 pivotally supported at 38 upon a bracket extending downwardlyfrom the lower side of the hopper 29. A frame member 38a is rigidlysupported upon the posts 8a intermediate theirends and upon this frame38a is mounted a motor support 39 carrying an electric motor 40 from theshaft of which motor motion is transmitted in any suitable manner to across shaft 4| to one end of which is secured a cam for operating acranlr arm 42 the upper end of which arm is pivotally connected to anextension arm 43 of the fork 31. The movable spider 32 is thereforeraised and lowered, sliding upon the shaft 33, by the opera tion of theelectric motor,'and this movable spider which carries several tubularplungers 3| will therefore move these plungers upwardly and downwardlywithin the several openings in the bottom of the hopper. As theseplungers 3| are tubular, and as the feed tubes 36 are also tubular andextend into these plungers, the loose rolls within the hopper 25 willfeed into the upper open ends of the several tubular plungers 3| andpass down into the feed tubes 35.

The quantity of loose rolls within the hopper is continually agitated bythe up and down movements of the tubular plungers 3| so that the rollsfind their way into the open upper ends of the plungers; and, toincrease the agitation of the rolls within the hopper and direct theminto.

the upper ends of the plungers, an agitator blade 44 is secured at itslower end adjacent each plunger 3| to each arm of the movable spider 32.

These blades extend longitudinally of and upupwardly beyond the upperends of these plungers into the bottom of the'hopper through radialslots in said bottom. Therefore, as the several plungers are movedupwardly and are projected through the Openings in the bottom of thehopper, the blades will ,also be moved upwardly through their slots inthe bottom of the hopper and come into contact with the supply of rollswithin the hopper to agitate these rolls so that they will find theirway into the upper open ends of the several plungers. I

Mounted upon the reduced upper end of the contral stud 8 rising from thebase of the machine is a supporting frame 45, and rigidly mounted in anysuitable manner upon the upper endofthis frame 45 is a roll feeding anddistributing head indicatedas a whole by the numeral 48.

said head comprising an upper block or bar 41 of extended length and alower parallel block 43, the upper block 4'! being formed with a seriesof curved conduits or passages 43 opening through the upper side of saidblock and equal in number to the number of feed tubes 36 which extenddownwardly from the hopper .23. Secured in any suitable manner to thelower end of each of the'feed tubes 36 is a flexible conduit 33. theseconduits being extended along the head 48 with lg other parts of themachine.

each of their lower ends secured to a tubular plug 5| secured within abore in the upper side of the block 41, and which bores formcontinuations of the upper ends of the curved passages 49 in The rollscontained'within each 5 said block 41. of the several feed tubes 36 arethus free to pass into the upper ends of the flexible conduits 50 anddown these several conduits and be distributed along the head 46,passing into the upper ends of the several curved passages 45in theupper block 41 of the head. In passing" down each of these curvedpassages 49, the lowermost roll therein is directed by the curvature ofthe V passage into a horizontal position at the lower end of the passagewith the longitudinal axis of this roll extending horizontally andlongitudinally of the block 41 adjacent the lower side of said block,where these rolls will then rest upon. the upper surface of a horizontalsupporting bar forming a shelf 52 which is mounted directly upon theupper side of the lower block 43, The lower end of each curved passage49 opens into a transverse way or opening 53 in theupper block M 41 andeach roll, as it passes down and out of the lower end of each of thecurved passages 49, 2 passes into one of these openings 53 and will lietherein, in a horizontal position, upon the upper surface of thehorizontally extending supporting bar of shelf 52 and within one of apair of notches 54 formed in the lower side of a. feed 3 finger 55 whichextends into and through said opening 53. There is one of these feedfingers 55 in each of the openings 53 and they are secured to a swingingfeed bar 56 extending the full length of the block 41 at one sidethereof and provided with a laterally extending pivot ear 5'! at eachend. Ears 5! are pivoted as at 58 to end plates 59 at the ends of thehead 46 and to which plates or headers 59 the ends of the blocks 41 and4B are secured, in any suitable manner, as byscrews passing through theplates and into the ends of the blocks. These fingers 55 are curved inthe direction of their lengths concentrically with their pivotal support53 and therefore are adapted to swing through the several openings 53transversely of the block 41. r

The feed bar 55 is swung in proper timed relation to the operationofother parts of the machine by means of a flexible arm Bil attached tothe pivot 5 at one end of the feed bar, and to the outer end of this arm60 is pivotally connected an operating rod 5| extending downwardly andbeing pivotally? connected at its lower end to movable means hereinafterdescribed for operat- As hereinbefore stated each roll, after passingdown its curved passage 49 in the block 41, enters one of the openings53 and lies upon the upper surface of the bar or shelf 52 within one ofthe notches 54 in one of the feed fingers 55. Therefore, upon swingingmovement of the feed bar 56 in either direction, each of the severalrolls so positioned will bemoved laterally from the supporting shelf 52,dropping out of the respective notch 54 and into the upper open end ofone or the other of-a pair of vertical slots 52 formed in the oppositesides of the lower block A 48, which slots extend downwardly through theessential that the several rolls be placed in each 1 cage with thetapers of all rolls extending in the same direction. So as the rolls arefree to enter the open upper ends of the feed tubes 36 with either endup, it becomes necessary to reverse those rolls which pass down theconduits 50 with the wrong end up, and, to insure that all rolls willdrop into their cages with their ends of greatest diameter up, means areprovided, imme-' diately following the ejection of each roll from eitherside of the shelf 52 by -the operation of the feed fingers 55, forturning each roll from the horizontal position in which it drops fromsaid shelf into a vertical position. To accomplish this change ofposition, each roll drops into a limited space at the upper end of eachslot 62 between the edge of shelf 52 and an opposed movable limit. bar65, which space is limited by said bar to a width less than the diameterof the large end of each roll. Therefore, each roll will be engaged atopposite sides adjacent its.

large and only and suspended between the straight edge of the shelf andstraight side of the bar to swing by gravity upon its points ofengagement therewith into a vertical position with its end ofleast'diameter extending downward.

Each of the two limit bars 65 is secured upon the upper side of asupporting bar 66 which is pivotally supported at its ends by studs 61projecting from the ends of the bar adjacent its lower side intoopenings in the end plates 59. These bars are all adapted to swingtoward and from the adjacent sides of the block 46 in which sides theslots 62 are formed, said sides being cut away across the upper ends ofsaid slots to permit the projecting inner side of each limit bar toapproach the outer edge of the shelf 52, leaving a space therebetween toreceive the rolls. The limit bars are so adjusted that the distancebetween the inner side of each and the opposed edge of the shelf will bejust slightly less than the extreme diameter of the large end of theroll when the limit bar is swung toward said edge to the limit of thismovement, as determined by adjustable stop screws 68 passing throughscrewthreaded openings in each bar 66 adjacent its ends and near: itsupper side. Each stop screw 68 has a head 69 the periphery of which isengaged within a notch in the lower side of the limit bar 65, and saidbar is-attached to its supporting bar 66 by screws passing throughelongated openings in said limit bar, so that, as said stop screwsarescrewed inwardly into contact with the block 46, the bar 66 will beswung outwardly and at the same time the limit bar will be moved by saidscrews toward said block and the edge of shelf 52, thus providing adifferential adjustment for said limit bar to give a very accurateadjustment of the width of the space between the edge of said shelf andopposededge of said limit bar so that the rolls dropping into said spacewill be caught adjacent their large ends and suspended thereby,thereupon being free to swing within the flared upper end portions ofthe slots 62 to a vertical position and pass down said slots, whenreleased, into the several conduits 64.

To swingthe bars 66 and limit bars 65 carried through its bearingopening in the end plate 56 at the end of the head 46 opposite thatatwhich the other stud 56 is located and to which latter stud theoperating arm 60 for swinging the feed bar 56 is attached. Arm llextends downwardly between a pair of, adjustable stop screws 12 mountedupon end plate 59 to limit the swinging of feed bar 56 in bothdirections, the lower end of this arm ll being engaged by a fork I!which is pivoted at 14 to said end plate 59 and has a lower end portionto swing between the upper free ends of a pair of arms 15 each of whichis rigidly secured to the projecting end of one of the pivot studs 61for each of the bars 66 upon which the limit bars 65 are mounted. Thefree end of each arm 15 is provided with an adjustable abutment screw 16to engage the lower end of the fork 13 to adjust the swing of the bars66,

and these arms 15 are yieldingly urged toward each other by a coiledspring 11 connecting said arms to hold one of said screws in contactwith said fork, the bar 66 to which the other arm is connected beingswung toward the adjacent edge of the shelf 52 with its limit or stopscrews 66 in contact with the block 48. The bars 66 are thereforealternately swung in timed relation to the swinging of the feed bar 56and to the operation of the fingers 55 in ejecting a roll from one edgeand then the other of the shelf 52.

In order that the operator of the machine may observe whether or not aroll has been fed to and is suspended in the upper end of each slot 62just prior to release of the rolls, an opening 18 extending nearly thefull length of each of the bars 66 is provided therein, and each openingis closed by a suitable transparent member 19. Therefore, if he shouldfind a roll to be missing from one of these slots 62, he can swing thefeed bar 56 by means of a handle 60 on the arm 1| notches 54. Whenswung, these fingers will alternately deliver rolls into the spacesbetween the limit bars 65 and edges of shelf 52, first at one side ofsaid shelf and then at the other to supply rolls to both sets ofconduits 64, one set leading from the lower ends of the slots orpassages 62 in one side of the lower block 48 of the distributing headand the other set leading from the slots at the opposite side of saidhead. These conduits 64 are together equal in number to the number ofrolls to be placed in any one of the cages 2 positioned upon the table 9with one cage directly below a fixed delivery head indicated as a wholeby the numeral II and mounted within a forked end of an arm 82projecting from the frame 45.

This delivery head 88 is of circular form in plan view and comprises anupper'disk 63 fitted within the forked end of the arm 62 and securedtherein, a lower disk 64 and a recess between said disks within which isa rotatable disk 65 mounted upon an axial stud 86 on said lower disk,all as shown in Fig. 6. These three disks have alignable openingsarranged concentrically about the axes of the disks, said openings inthe several disks together forming passages through the head whenaligned, each passage forming a continuation of one of the conduits 64the lower ends of which conduits are secured within the upper ends ofthe openings in the upper disk. The turn table 9 is rotatable with itsperipheral portion below head 8| and into such position that the rollsdropping from the several openings in the lower disk 84 will drop intotheir proper places in the cage. These passages for the rolls formed bythese aligned openings are inclined downwardly in convergent relation sothat the rolls will be inclined outwardly as they drop into the cage andwill therefore fall outwardly into the openings 8a in the upstandingwall of the cage.

-The conduits 84 are preferably kept substantially filled with rolls sothat they will feed down and, to control the disthe conduits by gravity,charge of these rolls into the cage, the intermediate disk 85 serves asavalve and is provided with a forwardly projecting handle 81 by means ofwhich it may be turned by hand against the action of a spring 88whichnormally holds said disk turned with its openings out of alignmentwith the openings in the other disks and prevents the feeding of rollsinto the cage until such time as the cage is properly positioned and theoperator turns the valvular disk to release a'set of rolls. The feedingof rolls into the cage is thus controlled independently of the operationof the machine and the operator may see that each cage is filled and therolls properly positioned therein before the table is turned to the nextstation.

In operation, the operator will place a cage 2 over the conical end liofthe plunger l of the cage holder |'3 next preceding in the direction ofrotation of the table 8 the holder which is directly beneath thedelivery head 8|. To insure proper positioning of the openings 3a in thewall 3 of this cage relative to the discharge openings in the disk 84, alocating dog 88 is pivotally mounted opposite each cage holder l3 withina notch in the edge of a flange of the cage holder at'the upper side ofthe table 8. Each of these dogs has an upstanding free end adapted toenter one of the openings 3a in the wall of the case as the cage isplaced upon said holder, each dog also having a tail portion extendingradially inward o! said table and beneath a flanged cam ring 88 securedto the lower end of the supportinghub 8| of the frame 45. The lower edgeof this ring 80 is formed with a, cam notch 82 into which the tail endsof the dogs 88 successively ride as they are carried around by the table8.

This cam notch is located opposite the station where each cage is placedupon its holder so as to permit each of the dogs to tilt about its pivotunder the force of a spring operated plunger 83 acting beneath the tailof each dog and to permit the head end of the dog thus tilted to enterone of the openings 8a in the cage just placed. Further turning of thetableto position the cage beneath the head 8| will move the tilted dogout of contact with the cam notch and cause said do to be withdrawn fromsaid opening in the cage to permit a roll to drop into place thereinwhen the rolls are released from said head.

When a bearing including the conical raceway member 4 is beingassembled, this member 4, is placed by the operator in position to beinserted within the cage 2 which has'just been supplied with rolls bythe delivery head 8| andmoved along by the further turning of the table8, said raceway being seated at its lower end upon the upper step of theconical upper end l5 of the plunger I5, as shown at the left in Fig. 6.The

75 table is then turned to bring the cage and racein the disks of thehead way beneath a head 84a on the lower end of a piston rod 84 whichlower end is guided by and secured to a bridge bar 95 slidable upon thevertical posts 8a. The lower end of the'rod 6| is pivotally attached tothe bridge 85 for transmitting motion from said bridge to operate thearm 58 and swing the feed bar 55 for feeding the rollers from the lowerends of the passages 48' in the distributor head 45. The upper end ofpiston rod is secured to a piston 95 within a cylinder 81 (see Figs. 2and 3) secured to the lower side of the frame member 38a so that, uponthe admission of compressed air or other fluid into said cylinderthrough one of a pair of branch pipes 98, the piston will be moved tobring the head 84a down upon the upper end of the conical raceway 4 andforce said raceway downward together with the plunger 5 upon which it isseated, the plungermoving down within its tube It against the action ofthe spring l1 and said raceway being thus forced into the cage 2 whichseats at its lower end within a groove in the upper end of said tube assaid plunger moves downward. The-raceway is thus forced endwise into itscage, its annular outstanding rib on its lower end being forced past therolls in said cage to engage beneath their lower ends, thus locking sothat the operator may conveniently remove the.

assembled unit from the machine. The operations of turning the table 8and operating piston 86 are conveniently controlled by providing asuitable source of fluid under pressure (not shown) from which source apipe 88 leads to a suitable two way valve I00 (Fig. 2) which controlsand alternates the flow to the branch pipes 88 and also to pipes ||l|leading to cylinder 28 having therein the piston 22 which operates thefriction band 2| for. turnin said table 8. This valve Hill is operatedby a rod I02 leading to a foot pedal I83 beneath which is a spring I04for returning the pedal and valve to normal position.

It may be found desirable to modify the roll feeding mechanism so thatit may feed a lesser number of rolls into each cage, as, for instance,

where a lesser number of rolls with greater intercombination of partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention and we do nottherefore limit ourselves to the particular construction shown.

What we claim is: 1. A machine for the ing a. roll feeding and toreceive and position a series of rolls with the like ends of said rollsall directed in the same direction, said head including an upper blockformed with a series of curved passages opening through the upper sideof said block to receive rolls by gravity. and opening at their lowerends into transverse openings opening through opposite sides of saidblock, a lower block formed with vertical slots at each side of saidblock, movable members extending throughout the length of said lowerblock in opposed relation to the opposite distributing head adaptedother of said arms sides of said block and said slots therein and spacedtherefrom to form a longitudinal slot at each side of said lower blockto receive rolls ejected from the ends of said transverse openings insaid upper block, means for moving said movable members toward and fromopposite sides of said lower block to engage rolls ejected into saidslots and suspend said rolls in said slots adjacent their ends oflargest diameter whereby all of said rolls so engaged may swing upontheir points of contact with said movable members and said lower blockwith their ends of smallest diameter all directed downwardly, means forfeeding said rolls from said openings in the lower side of said upperblock, said means comprising a feed bar at one side of said upper block,which feed bar is formed with a series of fingers to project into andthrough said transverse openings, means for pivotally supporting saidfeed bar, an arm secured to an end of said feed bar, means for pivotallysupporting each of said movable members for engaging said rolls, an armsecured to each of said movable members to move said members toward andfrom said lower block by the swinging movement of said arm secured tosaid feed bar, and means for swinging said feed bar on its pivotalsupport and thereby swinging said members in opposed relation toopposite sides of said lower block, in timed relation to the swingingmovement of said feed bar.

2. A machine for the purpose described including a roll feeding anddistributing head adapted to receive and position a. series of rollswith like ends of said rolls all directed in the same direction, saidhead including an upper block of extended length formed with a series ofpassages opening through the upper side of said block and opening intotransverse openings in the lower side of said block which openings openthrough opposite sides of said block, a lower block, a limit bar at eachside of said lower block each forming a, longitudinal slot between saidlimit bar and said lower block, each limit bar being pivotally supportedat its ends for swinging movement toward and from said lower block toengage rolls received in said slots and suspend said rolls therein forswinging movement upon their points of engagement at opposite sides ofeach all with said limit bars and lower block, an arm secured to eachlimit bar at one feed bar extending adjacent one side of said upperblock and pivotally supported at each end by pivot means, fingers uponsaid feed bar to project into and through said transverse openings atthe lower side of said upper block, an arm secured to said pivot meansfor said feed bar at one end thereof, a fork pivotally supportedintermediate its ends with said fork engaged with said arm secured to tosaid feed bar and with the lower end of said fork adapted to engagefirst one and then the for swinging said limit bars to operate saidlimit swinging movement of said feed bar, means for swinging said feedbar, and a spring connecting said arms for swinging said limit bars andadapted to hold one or the other of said arms foroperating said limitbars in contact with said lower end portion of said fork.

3. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on one of its sides by awall, a delivery duct formed in said member in communication with asource of supply of articles distributable by said member and providingend to swing the same, a

bars in timed relation to the- I duct, means movable at an outlet forthe articles from said source, a second delivery duct formed in saidmember in communication with said firstduct and extending through saidwall for providing an outlet for the articles from said first duct, athird delivery duct formed in said member in communication with saidsecond duct for providing an outlet for the articles from said secondduct, means movable between predetermined limits for displacing thearticles individually from said first duct through said second duct intosaid third duct, means movable at predetermined intervals in oppositedirections toward and away from said wall for varying the area of saidthird duct to control the discharge of the articles through .said thirdduct, means normally urging said second means in one of said directionsand opposing movement thereof in the opposite of said directions. andoscillatable means operatively interconnecting said first and secondmeans for driving the one by the other between said limits at saidintervals.

4. In a machine ofthe character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in communication with a source ofsupply of articles distributable by said member and providing an outletfor the articles from said source, a second delivery duct formed incommunication withsaid first duct and extending through said walls forproviding an outlet at each end of said second duct for the articlesfrom said first duct, a pair of third delivery ducts formed each incommunication with one of said last mentioned outlets for providing anoutlet for the articles from said second duct, feeder means.communicable with said second duct and movable at predeterminedintervals in one direction for displacing one of the articles from saidsecond duct through one of said outlets provided thereby and in anotherdirection for displacing another of the articles from said second ductthrough the other of said outlets provided thereby, means arranged inlateral spaced relation to each of said walls adjacent each of saidoutlets therein and movable in opposite directions toward and away fromsaid walls in predetermined relation to the movements of said feedermeans for varying the inlet areas of said third ducts, and meansnormally urging said second means in one of said opposite directions andopposing movement thereof in the other of said opposite directions.

5. In a machine of the character described and having, a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on one of its sides by awall, a delivery duct formed in said member in communication with asource ofsupply of articles distributable by said member and providingan outlet for the articles from said source, a second delivery ductformed in said member in communication with said first duct andextending through said wall for providing an outlet for the articlesfrom said first duct, 9. third delivery duct formed in said member incommunication with said second duct for providing an outlet for thearticles from said second duct, means extending through said wall intosaid second duct andmovable between predetermined limits for displacingthe articles individually from said first duct through said second ductinto said third predetermined intervals toward and away from said wallfor varying the area of said third duct to control the discharge of thearticles through said third duct, and oscil- 7| latable meansoperatively connecting saidlast means with sald next to last means fordriving the one by the other-between said limits at saidintervals.

6. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, block means defined on one of its sides by a wall, adelivery duct formed in said means in communication with a source ofsupply of anti-friction bearing elements for providing an outlet for theelements from the source thereof, a second delivery duct formed in saidmeans in communication with said first duct and extending through saidwall for providing an outlet for the elements from said first duct, athird delivery duct formed in said means in communication with saidsecond duct for providing an outlet for the elements from said secondduct, means carried in said second duct and movable betweenpredetermined limits for controlling the discharge of elements from saidfirst duct into said third duct, means for varying the area of saidthird duct at predetermined intervals for controlling the discharge 'ofthe elements therethrough, oscillatable means operativelyinterconnecting said first and second means for driving one by the otherbetween said limits at said intervals, and means formed in said firstand second means for rendering visible the presence of the elements insaid third duct.

7. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of articles distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a second deliveryduct formed in said member in communication with said first duct andextending through said walls for providing an outlet at each end of saidsecond duct for the articles from said first duct, a'pair of thirddelivery ducts formed in said member each in communication with one ofsaid last mentioned outlets for providing an outlet for the articlesfrom said second duct, feeder means carried in said second duct andmovable at predetermined intervals in one direction for displacing oneof the articles from said second duct through one of said outletsprovided, thereby and. in another direction for displacing another ofthe articles from said second duct through the other of said outletsprovided thereby, and means arranged in latera1 spaced relation to each.of said walls adjacent each of said outlets therein and movable towardand away from said walls in predetermined relation to the movements ofsaid feeder means for varying the inlet areas of said third ducts.

3. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of articles distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a second deliveryduct formed in said member in communication with said first duct andextendingthrough said walls 'for providing an outlet at each end ofsaidsecond duct for the articles from said first duct, a pair of thirddelivery ducts formed in said member each in communication with one ofsaid last mentioned outlets for providing an outlet for the articlesfrom said second duct, feeder means carried in said second duct andmovable at predetermined intervals in one direction for displacing oneof the articlesfrom said second duct through one of said outletsprovided thereby and in another direction for displacing another of thearticles from said second duct through the other oi. said outletsprovided thereby, means arranged in lateral spaced relation to each ofsaid walls adjacent each of said outlets therein and movable said feedermeans for varying the inlet areas of I said third ducts, and meansoperable for selectively adjusting said limit positions.

9. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of articles distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a second deliveryduct formed in said member in communication with said first duct andextending through said walls for providing an'outlet at each end of saidsecond duct for the articles from said first duct, a pair of thirddelivery ducts formed in said member each in communication with one ofsaid last mentioned outlets for providing an outlet for the articlesfrom said second duct, feeder means carried in said second duct andmovable at predetermined intervals in one direction for displacing oneof the articles from said second duct through one of said outletsprovided thereby and in another direction for displacing another of thearticles from said second duct through the other of said outletsprovided thereby, a pair of block elements each supported adjacent oneof said walls for movement toward and away therefrom in predeterminedrelation to the movements of said feeder means, and a second pair ofblock elements each supported by one of said elements of said first pairfor movement therewith and cooperable with the inlet of one of saidthird ducts for varying the area thereof in accordance with saidmovement.

10. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined von two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of articles distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a second deliveryduct formed in said and extending through said walls for providing anoutlet at each end of said second duct for the articles from said firstduct, a pair of third delivery ducts formed in said member each incommunication with one of said last mentioned outlets for providing anoutlet for the articles from said second duct, feeder means carried insaid second duct and movable at predetermined in.- tervals in onedirection for displacing one of the articles from said second ductthfiiugh one of said outlets provided thereby and in another directionfor displacing another of the articles from said second duct through theother of said outlets provided thereby, a pair of block elements eachsupported adjacent one of said walls for movement toward and awaytherefrom in predetermined relation to the movements of said first pairfor movement therewith and cooperable with the inlet of one of saidthird ducts for varying the area thereof in accordance with saidmovement, and adjustment means carried by each unit of two of said blockelements for selectively adjusting the relative positions of said,

elements of said units.

11. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member incommunicationwith a source of supply of-articles distributableby said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a

, second delivery duct formed in said member in communication with saidfirst duct and extending through said walls for providing an outlet ateach end of said second duct for the articles from said first duct, apair of third delivery ducts.

of said outlets provided thereby, a pair of block means mounted onoscillatable supports laterally of said walls for movement toward andaway therefrom between predetermined limit positions for varying theinlet areas of said third ducts, driven members carried by said secondmentioned supports for movement therewith, a

drive member carried by said first mentioned support for movementtherewith, and means arrangedbetween said drive and driven members anddriven by said drive member for alternately driving said driven membersbetween limit positions corresponding to said secondmentioned limitpositions and in response to movement of said feeder means between saidfirst mentioned limit positions.

12. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of'its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of article distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source, a second deliveryduct formed in said member in communication with said first duct andextending through said walls for providing an outlet at each end of saidsecond duct for the'artioles from said first duct, a pair of thirddelivery ducts formed in said member each in communication with one ofsaidlast mentioned outlets for providing an outlet for the articles fromsaid second duct, feeder means carried in said second duct and movablebetween predetermined limits in one direction for displacing one of thearticles from said second duct through one of said outlets providedthereby and in another direction for displacing another of the articlesfrom said second duct through the other of said outlets providedthereby, means arranged in lateral spaced relation to each of said wallsadjacent each of said outlets therein and movable at predeterminedintervals toward and away from said walls for varying the inlet areas ofsaid third ducts' to control the discharge of the articles therethrough,and oscillatable means operatively interconnecting said first and secondmeans for driving one by the other between said-limits at saidintervals.

13. In a machine of the character described and having a devicecomprising, a distributing head member defined on two of its sides by apair of walls, a delivery duct formed in said member in communicationwith a source of supply of articles distributable by said member andproviding an outlet for the articles from said source. a second deliveryduct formed in said member in communication with said first duct andextending through said walls for providing an outlet at each end of saidsecond duct for the articles from said first duct, a pair of thirddelivery ducts formed in said member each in communication with one ofsaid last mentioned outlets for providing an outlet for the articlesfrom said second duct, feeder means carried in said second duct andmovable between predetermined limits in one direction for displacing oneof the articles from said second-duct through one of said outletsprovided thereby and in another direction for displacing another of thearticles from said second .duct through the other of said outletsprovided thereby, means arranged in lateral spaced relation to each ofsaid walls adjacent each of said outlets therein and movable atpredetermined .intervals toward and away from said walls for varying theinlet areas of said third ducts to control the discharge of the articlestherethrough, oscillatable means operatively interconnecting said firstand second means for driving one by the other between said limits atsaid intervals, and means operable for selectively adjusting said limitpositions.

HERMAN A. OR'IEGREN. CHARLES C. HOWENSTINE.

